“Former NAACP chief Ben Jealous declared victory in Maryland’s Democratic primary for governor Tuesday, promising to deliver a progressive agenda that makes college free, legalizes marijuana and raises the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour,” the Baltimore Sun reports.

“Bolstered by support in the Baltimore region, spending from outside groups and an aggressive union-backed turnout machine, Jealous emerged from the six-way primary as Democrats’ bet to take on popular Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in November.”

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Richard Madaleno (D) “is launching an ad that highlights several ways he’s stood up to President Trump — a far better punching bag among the state’s Democrats than highly popular Gov. Larry Hogan (R),” the Washington Post reports.

“The ad ends with an on-screen gesture designed to irritate Trump’s conservative base: a lip-smacking kiss between Madaleno, a longtime state senator who if elected would be the state’s first openly gay governor, and his husband, Mark Hodge.”

“The ad is slated to run starting Thursday in the D.C. area during Fox & Friends, which the president spends a lot of time watching.”

Three weeks before their primary, Maryland Democrats remain largely undecided about who to nominate for governor, according to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, in a race overshadowed by record popularity for incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan (R).

Benjamin Jealous (D) leads Rushern Baker (D) in the sizable Democratic pack, 21% to 16%. But the outcome of the race probably will depend on the nearly four in 10 likely voters who have not yet settled on a candidate.

Meanwhile, Hogan has a 71% approval rating.

Maryland candidate for governor Kevin Kamenetz (D) died early Thursday after suffering from cardiac arrest, the Washington Post reports.

Baltimore Sun: “His death will upend the political calculations in the race for governor both for Democrats and for Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. For now, politicians across the state were still learning of the shocking news of the death of a hard-charging candidate and executive.”

A new Goucher College poll finds 69% of Marylanders approve of the way Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is handling his job, an increase from 61% in February.

“Hogan is vying to become the second GOP governor in 60 years to be reelected in Maryland, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 2 to 1. He has tried hard to avoid a partisan label and has repeatedly distanced himself from Trump and Republicans in Congress.”

“So far, the strategy seems to have worked. Seventy percent of Marylanders disapprove of Trump, nearly the opposite of Hogan’s approval rating… But 47% of Marylanders polled say Hogan has distanced himself ‘about the right amount’ from Trump. Twenty-seven percent say he’s distanced himself too little, and 9% say too much.”

A new Goucher Poll in Maryland finds Gov. Larry Hogan (R) with sky high approval ratings, 61% to 18%.

However, the poll also found that just 47% of respondents were either leaning toward or definitely voting to re-elect Hogan — that number has dropped by 10 points since this time last year.